One of the main messages he is trying to deliver to us is to always weigh what you achieve to what the consequences will be. This especially holds true for Macbeth, as when first contemplating if he should kill Duncan, not once did he think of how he could be punished. Also, when Macbeth first hears the witch’s prophecy of him being a king, he jumps directly to the idea of murder. This kind of thinking is exhibited in Macbeth’s monologue in scene 5 act 5, where he discus’s the uselessness of living, and this attitude towards life made him go mad. This also points to how unintelligent Macbeth really was.
Banquo illustrated Macbeth’s subconscious belief that he was an undeserved kin, for he has played “foully.” Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s conscience to show how even the idea of power can be strongly manifested in someone’s mind and slowly corrupt any existence of principles and integrity, once again emphasizing the idea that “absolute power corrupts absolutely. “Another example of Shakespeare using Macbeth’s internal conflict to depict the theme, “absolute power corrupts absolutely” was after Duncan’s regicide. After hearing the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth contemplates on committing regicide on the King but once again his conscience constricts him from doing so. However, he is clearly vacillating with the thought of murder when he says, “if chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without stir. His inner conflict is shown explicitly in act 1, scene 7 when he weighs not only the detrimental political consequences of the murder but also the moral values involved.
Macbeth is nicknamed "Black Macbeth" and this was incarnated evil in the story, "smacking of every sin that has a name". Malcolm, his successor on the throne represented good. The alliterative names Macbeth, Macduff and Malcolm pointed to the potential relation between the dispersed parts of a single unique self, that of man, torn between the forces of good and evil, just as in Dr Jekyll. While Doctor Jekyll or "Je-kill" and Mr "hide”, this is an example of phonics. This also can be associated with Macbeth's rhetoric of desire and, the idea of scientific creation substituted for witchcraft.
By presenting Claudius as the unfaithful serpent, it gives readers the connotation that he is evil, betraying and loathsome, correlating to the ghost’s and Hamlet’s feelings. Moreover, the serpent pattern of imagery is weaved in the ghost’s description of the poison- “swift as quicksilver it courses
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a dramatic play written to reinforce these patriarchal ideologies in question. The representation of characters Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the Three Witches deviating traditional ideologies and creating turmoil and disorder within society help to support the dominant patriarchal ideologies within the Great Chain of Being. Shakespeare constructs the Three Witches as defiant and disloyal to contextual gender ideologies of the time to emphasise the immorality of transgressing into masculinity. When we are first introduced to the weird sisters in Act 1 Scene 3 Banquo comments on one of their defining features; “you should be women, but your beards forbid me from interpreting that you are so”. In this we are clearly shown that the weird sisters possess traits of masculinity.
In Shakespeare’s time, the obedience of the natural order was absolute, and where it was disrupted, disastrous outcomes followed. This idea is clearly reflected in his play, Macbeth, through the themes of betrayal of the rightful king by Macbeth; the reversal of gender roles, particularly by Lady Macbeth who manipulates and controls her husband; and finally the supernatural powers that conflict with accepted beliefs and which dictate the actions and destiny of Macbeth. A disruption of natural order leads to catastrophic consequences, and ultimately bring about Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s downfall. Shakespeare examines the dire consequences brought about by the betrayal and murder of King Duncan paralleling a disorder in nature. The widely accepted theory of the Great Chain of Being highlighted royalty as a divine right from God and any aspiration to attain the throne was a sin.
A Character Comparison between Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Brian De Palma’s Scarface Power has the capability to corrupt the most notable of characters. It is able to make a person do things that they would generally not do, and motivate, depending on the source, for acts of good or evil. Macbeth is a tragic story written by William Shakespeare that shows how a notable Scotsman Macbeth gets power, and how he became person of dishonesty. This delusional sense of power enables Macbeth to commit various crimes in order to retain his false title of the King of Scotland. In Brian De Palma’s Scarface the character of Antonio 'Tony' Montana, in similar fashion, became the drug lord of Miami through equally questionable, immoral and corrupt deeds.
Nature’s Reaction to The Macbeth Murders Macbeth’s defiance of God’s will through sacrilegious murders causes nature to react with terrible occurrences throughout Scotland. Spirits give proof of God’s displeasure by causing supernatural events. According to Fallon, “In Macbeth, in fact, all of nature responds to the murder of the king,” (142). Macbeth went against God’s will by killing Duncan. Hence, Duncan’s death started a disruption in nature.
Although it is quite different than his first encounter with murder, this murder is all Macbeth’s idea. Furthermore, instead of doing it himself he decides to hire hit men to kill his friend Banquo who he believes is in his way of getting what he wants, more power. “I am in blood, stepped in so far that I should wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go’oer” (Act I, Sc.IV, Line 136-137). This serves as a pivotal moment in this play, Macbeth has decided that he is in to far already and there is no point in going back. He has decided that he already has blood on his hands he should just keep killing and getting what he desires, which now is to secure his hierarchy position.
Later, he seeks the witches for another prophecy which entails circumstances that will lead to his downfall; one, he can only be slain from one born by caesarian section, and second, Birnam forest moves to Dunsinane where his castle lies. The play marvelously depicts Macbeth as a tragic Machiavellian hero. According to B.K. De Paolis’ book, The Machiavel in Elizabethan & Jacobean Drama,” the Machiavellian villain-hero … embodies a character that is evil, cunning, ruthless, deceptive, treacherous, and usually foreign”. A tragic hero should be of high status with a tragic flaw, which leads to their downfall, and we should pity the poor bastard.